gas pump exsplosion

T

TarHeeLBoater

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My local lake marina. While his family was on the boat he leaves the bvoat running while filling up?
I have always found it strange that they let you fill youre self here.I have seen people run it over intoo the water lots of times. The store that operates the pump is about 200 feet away from the pump. Here is a link to the story http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7683555/
 
Every marina I have bought gas in has handed me the nozzle to pump my gas. I think it's a liability issue. They are not responsible if fuel goes in the wrong tank etc.
 
Glad to hear that the injuries were "slight".

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It is also a good time to remember the recommended procedures, which include ( partial list ):

Shut off the engine.
Shut off electrical.
Unload all passengers during fueling. ( good time for potty stop! )
Fill hose must be manned/monitored at all times, preferably by the owner.

Safety is an ongoing process.

This is a controllable risk. It is up to the Captain to make sure that it is, in fact, controlled.
 
And don't run the blowers while fueling--can't count the number of times I've seen people do this.
 
The marinas on Lake St. Clair have attendants that fill your boat for you. I've never had to do it myself. However, they never tell you to have everybody get off the boat or close hatches or to run your blowers before starting. I always found that odd that they wouldn't require a few safety procedures with the possible damage an explosion could do to their business as well as the boat.
 
Sounds like everyone will be OK, which is great news.
At my marina, owner fill-up is basically a requirement. The attendant helps you tie off, advises to shut everything down, turns on the pump and hands you the nozzle. I then shuffle everybody ashore and take care of business.
Here is my question --- after filling up, do you run your blowers for 3 - 5 minutes before re-starting your engines? I do, but typically fill up during the week when there is no boat traffic at the gas dock. I see boats "gassing and going" all the time.
Based on the following report from a nearby marina, why would you let an attendant fill you up?
Start with a summer worker, tell her to fill'er up, go to the ship store for some ice, get back, that's $11.00 sir, my boat holds way more than $11.00, well that's all that would go in...which is the right amount for filling a HOLDING TANK!!!
Problem #1, the assistant Harbor Master did not supervise (and almost lost his job); Problem #2, the owner assumed a dock attendant was properly trained.
Good news is this is a great marina, they immediate covered the expense to pump out and purge the holding tank andgave the boater a free fill-up with about 75 gallons of gas.
What if this attendant had filled the water tank??? Yikes!!!
 
As I said in the other thread, if I were the marina attendant I wouldn't even hand them the hose until the engine was shut down.

Bob
 
I'm not sure I'd even LET the attendant fuel my boat... who knows what he'd do? Nor would I attempt to fuel someone elses boat. Way too many things can go wrong, and the consequences can get expensive if not disastrous.
 
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